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The Price of a Drink

The temperance movement was one of the social reform movements to spring out of the Second Great Awakening and the first to attract large numbers of women. It was dedicated to combating the problems of alcoholism by promoting abstinence or moderation in alcohol consumption. The "drys" became active in Texas beginning in the 1840s and continued to be a force in Texas politics well into the 1930s. In 1843 the Republic of Texas enacted "local option," a measure that allowed individual neighborhoods, towns, cities, and counties to prohibit the sale of alcohol within their borders. In 1845, a law was actually passed banning saloons, though it was never enforced and was repealed in 1856.

The poem below dates from somewhat later but reflects the spirit of the temperance movement.